How Do You Get Rid Of Squirrels – Helpful Guide

Squirrels love to build nests and one of the best places to do that is in your home; it’s warm and it’s dry, and for the wintertime that’s just perfect. It may be perfect for the squirrels, but it’s not perfect for you, so if you seem to be having a squirrel problem, and have been asking yourself how do you get rid of squirrels?, then follow these simple tips on how to get rid of them. Squirrels are really cute and fun to look at, but at the end of the day, they can cause some serious damage to your home, and they can be dangerous to you too

Are Squirrels Dangerous To Humans?

Even though squirrels look all cute and cuddly, they can in fact be quite dangerous. One of these reasons is because squirrels have some pretty big teeth, in some cases close to one inch in length, and if they bite you it can cause some serious damage. Not only are squirrels dangerous because they can bite you, but when they bite you they may be carrying rabies, a deadly disease that can kill a human very quickly.

Equally as bad, a squirrel also has the potential to be carrying Lyme disease. Lyme disease is caused by ticks that carry the disease and then bite rodents. Rodents can spread the Lyme disease to you by biting, and so can the ticks themselves. Squirrels can also be dangerous to you if they live in your home because they will defecate everywhere, and fecal matter spreads disease such as cholera, which can also be deadly to humans.

Are Squirrels Dangerous To Your Home?

Squirrels can also cause some serious damage to your home because they like to tear things apart to use for their nest, not only that, but they are also naturally curious, and that means that they can end up chewing through quite a bit of wood, drywall, and other building materials in your home. In the end, they can cause quite a bit of damage and cost you a fair amount of money in terms of home repairs.

Squirrels can also cause a lot of damage in between the walls by ripping apart your home insulation, and that can become very costly because you will have to tear apart the walls to make those repairs. Finally, squirrels can also be dangerous to your home because if they defecate or urinate in the same spots for a prolonged period of time, it could cause mold to grow.

How Do You Get Rid Of Squirrels From Your Property

The first that that you need to do in order to keep the squirrels away from your home is to eliminate their presence on the outside of your home, only after that is done can you really be sure that they will not come back into your home. This is however somewhat easier said than done. Here are a few things that you can do on your own to keep those pesky squirrels off of your property as well as out of your home.

Their Nests – One of the first things that you should do to get rid of squirrels on your property is to destroy their nests, because if they have nowhere to live on your property, they will be forced to leave and find another home. If you have a ground squirrel problem, the best way to take care of them by yourself is by flooding their boroughs.If you flood their underground home, it will force them outside in order to get air, and it will also force the borough to collapse, and thus effectively eliminating the squirrel’s home.If you have a regular squirrel problem, then you can try getting a ladder and going up into the trees to remove their nests (squirrels often build nests that resemble bird nests). Squirrels that live in trees also like to use tree hollows to make nests, you can also take care of these by flooding them.

Repelling Odors – Squirrels have a very good sense of smell, something that works to their advantage, but you can also use it to your own advantage by utilizing different scents which will repel the squirrels when they smell them. One of the most effective scents is the spicy scent because squirrels have very sensitive noses, and spicy things will cause their noses to itch and burn.If you disperse spicy things in the affected areas, the squirrels are sure to go away and to stay away. One of the best spicy things that you can use to get the job done is chili powder; anything really spicy will do. Another type of scent that you can use is the scent of a predator.Using concentrated predator urine such as that of foxes, wolves, and even raccoons will serve the purpose perfectly. The other thing you can do that fits into this category is to place kitty litter outside, even better is used kitty litter. Squirrels will smell the cat or other predator scents and will not dare to venture onto your property, let alone into your home.

Sealing Cracks – Squirrels will most often get into your home through some sort of crack or tear in your roofing or in the walls. After all, they don’t just walk into your front door! That being said, it’s probably a good idea to keep your doors and windows shut, or at least covered with insect screening. However, if you have cracks or breaks in your roof or walls, then you should get them repaired right away, as this will go a long way in keeping the squirrels out.

Traps – One of the most effective ways to control a squirrel problem on your property or in your home is to set squirrel traps. For squirrels, you need to be traps that are meant for small animals like squirrels, because if they are too big, they might not work. If the traps are too big, then the pressure plate that causes the door to snap shut may not be activated.Also, if the traps are too big, the squirrel may actually be able to escape by running through the bars. Another reason to get a small trap is because a bigger trap may cause injury to a squirrel because it will inevitably try to run around and escape, and the bigger the space, the faster it can run, and the harder it will hit the cage, ultimately resulting in injury.

The Bird Feeder – One of the things that may keep squirrels in your yard and on your property is if they have a steady food source. Many people like to have bird feeders set up on their property to feed the birds, the problem being that squirrels will most often be the ones to eat that bird food. Thus, the solution is to get a squirrel proof bird feeder that stops the squirrels from getting at the bird food. Once the squirrels realize that they can’t get food from the bird feeder, they will move on in order to find other sources of food.

Plant And Tree Control – Another way to help reduce the number of squirrels that enter your home is remove trees or tree branches that are close to your house walls or to the roof. Squirrels can jump really far, and if you have tree branches close to your home, then chances are that they will jump onto your roof and find a way in.

Sound Units – The final effective way to keep squirrels away is by using ultrasonic sound units that will hurt a squirrel’s sensitive ears. These units emit ultrasonic sound frequencies that squirrels can’t handle, and it will force them to leave the area. These squirrel repelling tools can be used outside, however they are not usually water resistant, which means if it rains, they will break. Sound units are much more effective to use inside the home.

How to get rid of squirrels – Recommended do it yourself products

This is a great little, non-lethal animal trap that you can use to catch a whole variety of small animals including squirrels. It’s very easy to use because it comes fully assembled and ready to go. All you have to do to use it is place some bait on the inside of the trap, something like peanut butter will do fine, and then open the door and snap it into place. When the squirrel enters the trap it will step on the pressure plate and trigger the door to snap shut.

It’s a good choice because it won’t cause the animal any harm at all as the inside has no sharp edges to prevent injury. Afterwards, you just go into the wild somewhere and release it, and be sure to release it far away from your house that it won’t come back. The Havahart animal trap has received great feedback. Over all, this is one of the best options to go with by far because it is humane and environmentally friendly too; it uses no toxins or chemicals at all.

If you are into feeding the birds, but find that the squirrels are always stealing your birdseed, then the solution is to get a squirrel proof bird feeder. The way it works is by having a weight activated perch, and when a squirrel’s weight is on the birch, it will close off access to the bird seed. The weight setting can also be adjusted so that you can choose the weight of the birds that you can feed, as long as it isn’t as big as a squirrel of course.

Not only does it utilize the weight technology to keep squirrels out, it it’s really tough and durable too, it has a blue powder coated steel body, which means that the squirrels cannot break their way into it. There are other great features about this bird feeder too, such as the fact that the double sided feeding feature attracts more birds to your home. The Woodlink Absolute bird feeder has a very large capacity of twelve pounds so that you don’t have to refill it very often either.

Getting Professional Help

The other option to get rid of your pesky squirrel problem is by going to a professional for help. This is of course the easier option, but it’s also quite a bit more costly too. To get rid of squirrels it will cost you anywhere from $150 to $400, depending on who you go to, what methods they use, and how bad your squirrel problem is. The other problem with going to a professional is that they really can’t do much more than you; all they will do is set traps and seal cracks as well, and that’s something that you can do on your own. All of that being said if you have no experience in this field, or simply don’t wish to have to catch and release a squirrel, then a professional is definitely a lot simpler than doing it on your own.

What Not To Do When Trying To Get Rid Of Squirrels

One thing that you shouldn’t do when trying to get rid of squirrels is to use a poison. The reason for this being that in many places the squirrel is actually an endangered animal, which means there are some pretty heavy penalties for killing them, not to mention that poison is inhumane too. Yet, if you do live in a place that allows you to kill squirrels, then one tip to follow is to never use rat poison, because for some reason it usually does not work on squirrels. Also, when you are setting traps, never set them in the attic or on the roof, they usually don’t work in there. This is especially true when the trap is on the roof, as catching the animals on the outside of your home is a waste of time.

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